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Charles R. Maduell, Jr.
FRENCH NAME PRACTICES IN THE 17th & 18th Centuries
In all the cultures of western Europe, the practice of surname useage is
nowhere as complex as it is in France. This is probably because France is really
the crossroads of Europe, the cultures of Latin based Itality, Teutonic based
German, Celtic based Breton, mixed with Basque, Norman and Spanish, all contributing
to the French language.
Surnames in France were not stabilized so that the name of the father became
the family name. Although this practice was more or less prevailing, it did not
have legal enforcement, and a son or daughter was free to adapt the surname of
the father or not, as wished.
This practice brought with it the flagrant use of the preposition "de" and the
article "le" and even the cOmbination of preposition and article in the forms "de la"
and XXXXXXX "des" Fortunately, there is some semblance of order in the use of
these prefixes before the more complex names.
The preposition "de" and its modofied [modified] form "du" were orginally used by the
nobility to denote the possession of an estate, the name of the state following the
preposition. We find, that, as an example, three brothers whose faster [father] was named
Lemoine were prominent in La. They were the sieurs de Bienville,
d'Iberville, and de Chateaugue. We even find that the surname Lemoine was not
used, preference being for the estate name, even to the extent of dropping the
preposition.
We find this practice ven [even] among those who had little or no claim to a title.
Thus, the four Chauvin brothers, three of whom establsihed estates along the river
above New Orleans, adopted the estate names de Lery, afterward, Delery; de la
Freniere, afterward Lafreniere; and de Beaulieu, afterward Beaulieu. Of the
fourth brother little is known, but the name Chauvin was well established in La.,
even in the early period.
In the census tables, which form the major part of this thesis, names beginning
with the preposition "de" or "du" are often found in places where the preposition
has been dropped, hence, we should look in several places for any specific surnames
which may or may not have been an estate name. This [thus], in the early census we might
find M. Delery under Cahusin, under De Lery, or under Lery.
Of officials of La.sometimes used the preposition and sometimes not, so
the reader looking for a specific name may find it in either place, or in both plaeces.
Unfortunately, the use of the preposition does not establish that the name following
was an estate. In some cases, the preposition takes its rightul definition,
meaning "of" or "from" and the name following is a place, not necessarily an estate.
Such names as Dupong (by the bridge) Duval (from the valley), De Belisle (from
the pretty island) would be of this form. It is highly possible that bearers of
such names had other family names as well, although many may be lost in history.
The article "la" or "le" before names is much more common among those Frenchmen
who were from the north, Normandy or Picardy. The article presupposes that at one
time or another the bearer's ancestors were serfs or villagers with more or less
freedom but belonging to or assigned to an individual bearing the name following.
Names such as Lachapelle obviously signify that the ancestor was from Chapelle, while
a name such as Lavigne signified that the ancestor worked for or belonged to M. Vigne.
It has been the practice in American to bring together the preposition or the
article with the remainder of the name thus, a name which may have once been
separated, as La Place in now Laplace and Du Val is not [now?] Duval.
Carrying the practice of surnames as applying to Frenchmen even further is the
sue [issue?] of combined preposition and article. We then notice such names as de la Chaise,
or Deschamps. These have the same significance as above, but we might find the

Charles R. Maduell, Jr.
FRENCH NAME PRACTICES IN THE 17th & 18th Centuries
In all the cultures of western Europe, the practice of surname useage is
nowhere as complex as it is in France. This is probably because France is really
the crossroads of Europe, the cultures of Latin based Itality, Teutonic based
German, Celtic based Breton, mixed with Basque, Norman and Spanish, all contributing
to the French language.
Surnames in France were not stabilized so that the name of the father became
the family name. Although this practice was more or less prevailing, it did not
have legal enforcement, and a son or daughter was free to adapt the surname of
the father or not, as wished.
This practice brought with it the flagrant use of the preposition "de" and the
article "le" and even the cOmbination of preposition and article in the forms "de la"
and XXXXXXX "des" Fortunately, there is some semblance of order in the use of
these prefixes before the more complex names.
The preposition "de" and its modofied [modified] form "du" were orginally used by the
nobility to denote the possession of an estate, the name of the state following the
preposition. We find, that, as an example, three brothers whose faster [father] was named
Lemoine were prominent in La. They were the sieurs de Bienville,
d'Iberville, and de Chateaugue. We even find that the surname Lemoine was not
used, preference being for the estate name, even to the extent of dropping the
preposition.
We find this practice ven [even] among those who had little or no claim to a title.
Thus, the four Chauvin brothers, three of whom establsihed estates along the river
above New Orleans, adopted the estate names de Lery, afterward, Delery; de la
Freniere, afterward Lafreniere; and de Beaulieu, afterward Beaulieu. Of the
fourth brother little is known, but the name Chauvin was well established in La.,
even in the early period.
In the census tables, which form the major part of this thesis, names beginning
with the preposition "de" or "du" are often found in places where the preposition
has been dropped, hence, we should look in several places for any specific surnames
which may or may not have been an estate name. This [thus], in the early census we might
find M. Delery under Cahusin, under De Lery, or under Lery.
Of officials of La.sometimes used the preposition and sometimes not, so
the reader looking for a specific name may find it in either place, or in both plaeces.
Unfortunately, the use of the preposition does not establish that the name following
was an estate. In some cases, the preposition takes its rightul definition,
meaning "of" or "from" and the name following is a place, not necessarily an estate.
Such names as Dupong (by the bridge) Duval (from the valley), De Belisle (from
the pretty island) would be of this form. It is highly possible that bearers of
such names had other family names as well, although many may be lost in history.
The article "la" or "le" before names is much more common among those Frenchmen
who were from the north, Normandy or Picardy. The article presupposes that at one
time or another the bearer's ancestors were serfs or villagers with more or less
freedom but belonging to or assigned to an individual bearing the name following.
Names such as Lachapelle obviously signify that the ancestor was from Chapelle, while
a name such as Lavigne signified that the ancestor worked for or belonged to M. Vigne.
It has been the practice in American to bring together the preposition or the
article with the remainder of the name thus, a name which may have once been
separated, as La Place in now Laplace and Du Val is not [now?] Duval.
Carrying the practice of surnames as applying to Frenchmen even further is the
sue [issue?] of combined preposition and article. We then notice such names as de la Chaise,
or Deschamps. These have the same significance as above, but we might find the